Paper
by MikeyCam33196
Summary: OCs used. Set in Danny Phantom "universe". Explanation inside.


First of all, this is a fanfic of two other fanfics, so if you have issues with those kinds of stories, you should probably stop now.

This fluffy oneshot is based on a group of OC characters based in the Danny Phantom universe that we write about in RP mode. You may come across references that are meant for the writers of the other two fics, but aren't necessarily needed to know to enjoy the story. But if you still need to know, PM me and I'll answer what I can.

These, you'll probably need to know:

Wolfa is used to describe AJ and Kai. They're part human/part wolf.

AJ's and Kai's relationship is similar to Danny and Sam's towards the ending of season two/ beginning of season three. The I Like You but I'm Not Sure You Like Me Back sort of relationship. And all of their friends know they like each other.

Prior to the start of this oneshot, there was an accidental kiss between the two. Neither has actually discussed it and it's sort of been brushed away under the rug. (SLW, DrW-It's based loosely on the beginning of TG's House of G.)

**This is rated T more for language than anything else. **

**My disclaimers:**

The Danny Phantom universe: Casper High, Amity Park, Mr. Lancer, the Box Ghost, Danny Fenton and all other characters of the show are the property of Mr. Butch Hartman. (And you should all ready know that. xD )

AJ (Ashley) Courman and Simon are property of OokamiManiakku/ Dark Rebel Wolf and used with permission. For further reference, see story: Genesis (ffnet story ID: 3789413 )

Kai (Kaitso) Atokata/ Zamorax, Xander, and Hei are property of TheeBycth/ Silver Loyal Wolf and used with permission. For further reference, see story: The Last Banquet (Third of a trilogy) (ffnet story ID: 4077690 )

Izzy, Colin, the plot etc. are mine. (Obviously)

So enjoy!

* * *

**Paper**

He reached his arm across in his sleep and pulled her closer to him. The warm soft curve of her back molded against him in a perfect fit. Her familiar scent -comforting, alluring, and uniquely her own- filled his senses. The sound of her breathing reached his ears as she slept safely beside him. It was perfect.

Too perfect.

Kai startled awake finding himself in the library where he had apparently fallen asleep.

"Dreaming again?" The voice taunted in his head.

He huffed loudly choosing to ignore it. He glanced down at the table and scanned the paper in front of him. Lancer's literature term paper was due today. Satisfied that he couldn't perfect it any further, he placed the term paper into his notebook. He'd get an A, he was sure of that, as he glanced at the clock nearby. Ten minutes and a free period before it was due. Perfect.

Kai stretched in the chair fully and uncomfortably aware of the dream as a smile curved ever so slightly on his lips. He knew why the dreams were back in full force again. The accidental kiss had been a week ago and his mind had been in overdrive ever since. The smile tugged at the corners slightly more as he stood collecting his notebook and bag deciding to hunt down the source of the dream.

Her scent led him into the back storage areas of the high school. Kai followed it until he reached a partially opened door where rustling paper sounded from inside. Puzzled, he opened the door carefully fully prepared for a possible attack. Perhaps even just come across the Box Ghost again. Instead, it was simply piles of paper littered across the room as empty recycling cans lined the walls- and activity. Lots of activity.

"Bloody drill sergeant," Izzy muttered to herself from one side of the storage room as she leafed through one pile of papers stacked beside her. Her long brown hair was pulled back in her usual ponytail as she scanned each paper before moving it to another pile.

Kai stepped further into the room as Xander looked up from his own pile. Obvious relief flooded the green-haired boy as he stood up and walked over to the wolfa.

"What is going on?" Kai asked.

Xander gestured behind him at the flurry of activity coming from the other end of the room. "Ya gotta do something wit yer girlfr…well, 'er."

"I've got to find it!" AJ's voice echoed loudly through the room. "I don't have time to redo it! I know it's in this mess! I just know it!" Her back was to the door as sheets of paper flew from one pile into another.

"And you said that an hour ago," Izzy continued to mumble.

Kai returned his focus back to Xander as the boy continued his explanation. "She's gone crazy, she 'as."

The girl in question looked up suddenly. "Kai!" AJ shouted and waved him over.

Xander grinned. "I'll be sure to stand up fer ya at yer trial. State it was temporary insanity."

Rather than use the traditional insult saved for the spellcaster, Kai just brushed past him moving over to AJ.

"It's yer funeral," he heard the green haired boy holler out.

AJ didn't catch the comment as she was grilling the other girl in the room. "Iz, did you check…"

Izzy cut her off. "I checked that bin. Can't you see all the paper on the floor around it?"

"What about bin four?"

"I saved that one for you," Izzy replied in a tone that drew a look from AJ. "Damn it!" Izzy shouted suddenly, "I'm going to be late for class. I'll be back afterwards."

"By all means, abandon me in my moment of need," AJ said.

Izzy just looked at her. "You're not drowning AJ. It's just a paper."

"In Lancer's class that I'm about to fail!"

"Kai doesn't have class, have him help," Izzy suggested as if the solution was obvious to anyone.

"Ya, he can 'elp," Xander added as he walked towards the door.

AJ turned on the green haired boy. "And where are you going?"

"I hafta find meh room," Xander said a slight growl heard in his voice.

"Oh," AJ said. She turned to Kai. "Please say you'll help."

Kai looked into those pleading green eyes and sighed. Resigning himself to using his only free period of the day to look for her paper in a room full of paper, he answered, "I suppose."

AJ's face lit up. "You're a life saver!"

"Yes, I'm a life saver," he said with the custom sarcastic tone he had perfected. Secretly he was pleased, though he'd die before he ever admitted it to anyone.

"Can you take that bin over there that Iz was going through?" AJ asked as she continued with her own.

"And what exactly am I looking for anyway?" Kai asked eyeing the paper all around the room.

"My Lit term paper."

"The one that's due today?"

AJ nodded as she looked up at him. "And now you know why I've got to find it."

"Why would it be in here?"

"Simon was proofing it for me and it sort of was placed in some other papers. To make a long story short, he thinks it might've ended up in here," AJ said as she started sorting through her pile again.

Kai felt the hair on the back of his neck bristle at the vampire's name. "I should've figured that blood sucker was behind this."

"It was an accident," AJ said.

Kai snorted at that. _Yeah right_. Then why wasn't he down here looking for it? Sighing, knowing his fate was sealed for the next hour, Kai set his bag down and settled in among the pile Izzy had vacated minutes ago. "Aren't you supposed to be in Lancer's class right now?" he asked as he eyed the two piles left from the previous sorter. Which pile was sorted and which one wasn't? He growled in annoyance as he realized he'd have to start over.

"Lancer knows I'm down here," AJ began, "He let me into the room after I pleaded my sob story to him."

"And how many tears did you shed?"

AJ tossed him an annoyed look then grumbled under her breath, "Enough to get in here."

"I would've liked to seen that performance."

She hadn't realized he had heard her. She smiled sheepishly. "It was one of my better ones."

Was it a performance last week, he silently wondered. Did that kiss mean as much to her as it did to him? Did he dare to find out? He chanced a glance over at her. Her head was bent down as she sorted through the paper resting on her lap. Black and neon blue hair tumbled forward hiding her face from him. Not that mattered anyway, he had every part of it committed to memory.

_Get a grip_, he chastened himself as he tried to concentrate on the papers in front of him. He huffed under his breath. This was not what he wanted to be doing. What he wanted to be doing with her did not involve paper that was for sure. From that particular thought, his mind added a few details and he was almost back into the dream.

"Kai?" AJ asked suddenly. The boy in question suddenly looked up blushing slightly like the kid who just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I just wanted to say thanks," she added with a small smile.

"I didn't have anything else planned," the words slipped out of his traitorous mouth.

"Oh," she said unable to hide the disappointment radiating from her. "Well, uhm, thank you anyway." She looked back down at the papers suddenly shifting them a little louder than before.

_Brilliant move idiot_, he chastened himself. "AJ, that didn't come out right," he said suddenly.

She looked back up.

"I mean…that since I didn't have any other pressing matters…" That wasn't the right words either. "That is…"

"Don't worry. I get it," she said cutting him off.

_No you don't_, his mind answered. He looked over at her again. Her head was bent down in concentration again. Only this time, her shoulders seemed to slump more. He'd have to make it up to her somehow- find that paper- something.

It took thirty more minutes and two more bins to realize that he didn't have a hope in hell of finding the damn thing. As they reached the bottom of the last bin, AJ let out a disappointed sigh. Such a simple sigh but one that made him want to battle the worse demons from hell rather than hear it come from her again. "I guess it isn't here after all," she said quietly.

"Doesn't look like it," Kai answered.

"Well, Lit wasn't my favorite subject anyway," she said trying to inject a lighter tone to the sentence. Didn't matter, he still could read AJ better than she probably could read herself. He knew she was upset and in essence, he had failed.

"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz! What tornado hit this room?!" Lancer exclaimed as he stepped inside looking around. "Miss Courman, when I said you could search the bins, I didn't mean redesigning it to fit a documentary about paper origami. You will pick up each and every paper on this floor."

AJ sighed again. "Yes Mr. Lancer," she said.

"And Mr. Atokata, class-Now," the heavy-set teacher ordered.

Kai grumbled something under his breath about his luck as he collected his bag.

As the pupil and the teacher walked down the hall, one with a mysteriously happy half smile, the other casting cold hawk like glares at passing students, Mr. Lancer asked, "So did Miss Courman find her paper?"

Taken off guard, a rarity for Kai, he stuttered, "A..Actually…" he paused for a moment. Maybe, just maybe, he could still make it up to her. "Actually yes." He dug out his own term paper and handed it over to the teacher. "Here it is."

Lancer eyeballed it and looked at Kai. "It has your name on it," he commented.

"Uh yes, well…" he began and snatched the paper from the teacher. He crossed out his name and put AJ's there. "See. Not mine."

The teacher looked at the boy with the faint smile still hovering on his lips as he regarded him. "Are you sure this is Miss Courman's paper? The assignment is worth twenty percent of the semester grade."

Kai swallowed hard. That would kill his A average and likely drag it down to a low B, possibly a C average depending on these next few tests coming up. "It's hers."

"And yours?"

"Must have misplaced it," Kai answered.

"That's such a shame that this paper isn't yours but Ms. Courman's," Mr. Lancer replied stressing the last half of the sentence. "Perhaps you can make up some of the points up after school today?" Kai simply glared to which Mr. Lancer met the glare and gave him one back. "That wasn't a request. After school, my room, three o'clock sharp and bring a pen and plenty of notebook paper."

_Just let me use that pen and I'll show him how well blood can be used as ink…_Zamorax chimed in Kai's head. For just a split second, the boy almost agreed with him. Instead, Kai answered, "Fine. I'll be there." As the boy entered the room, Mr. Lancer looked down the hall. He smiled back at the dawning grin of the girl at her locker. Mr. Lancer walked into his classroom and went to work teaching the students all about the joys of speaking in The Master Bard's tongue.

* * *

"So you're back after all," AJ mumbled as she shoved paper back into the bins.

Izzy smiled. "I told you I would be," she said as she grabbed a handful of papers and placed them into a bin. "So how did paper hunting go with Kai?"

AJ met the question by shoving more paper down into the barrel harder than was necessary.

"Didn't find it?" Izzy questioned keeping the smirk hidden as best as she could. It really wouldn't have mattered since AJ was too busy concentrating on shoving paper down the throats of the bins.

"No, we didn't find it. It was a stupid assignment anyway," AJ muttered under her breath.

"Funny you should say that, because I think Lancer has your paper," Izzy casually worked that bit of information into the conversation.

"What are you talking about Iz?"

"Just because it isn't here doesn't mean that it wasn't found and turned in. I heard Lancer tell Kai he has your paper."

AJ's eyes lit up with hope. She desperately needed that paper to keep from failing his class. "What do you think the odds are?" she asked suddenly.

Izzy grinned. "I'd say the odds are pretty good that you'll find what you're looking for."

AJ looked around suddenly at all the paper. "Uhm, Iz…"

Izzy waved her off with an "I've got it. Go find out about your paper."

"Thanks," AJ said before taking off towards Lancer's classroom.

Izzy looked around the room. "You are going to owe me big- both of you," she said smiling before she started whistling as she began the task of cleaning up the room.

* * *

AJ made it in record time to Lancer's classroom before she realized that there still was five more minutes left of class, and of the school day. She paced quietly but nervously outside of the closed classroom door waiting to see if what Izzy had said was true. She really needed that paper- even if she did fail it. Fifty points was still better than zero points with the way that Lancer graded.

Finally, the bell sounded above her and the door to the classroom opened almost instantly. Students filed past her and she received the customary brush off from Paulina, Dash, and Star, while receiving the customary hello from Danny and his friends. Kai was the last to exit. He stopped to look at her but AJ refused to meet his eyes. She wasn't quite ready to forgive him just yet.

"Remember Mr. Atokata, three o'clock- twenty minutes from now," Lancer said stepping out of the classroom.

Kai's eyes became guarded as soon as AJ refused to meet his gaze so by the time Lancer began talking, they were nothing but ice. "Got it," he said flatly before he walked off as if he was only angry at the vice principal. Though had Xander or Hei noticed, either would have characterized it more as wounded.

Mr. Lancer did happen to take notice before he spotted AJ waiting by the door. "Miss Courman, can I help you?"

"Uh, I hope so," she said. "Iz told me you have my term paper."

"She did, did she?" Lancer commented with a faint smile. "Come on in and we'll see."

AJ followed the teacher into the classroom as Lancer settled into the chair behind his desk. He pulled out a large folder containing the papers. "Ah, here it is," he said pulling out the paper and placing it in front of her.

AJ looked at it. "This isn't mine," she commented as she read the title and the thesis.

"Really?" Mr. Lancer asked. "Strange. Mr. Atokata insisted it was yours. Looks like A material too."

AJ inspected it closer. The handwriting was neat and polished rather than her usual sloppy put together type. She glanced through the paper. Even though she knew who's handwriting it was, the shock still came as she opened to the back page. There, as the author, was the name: Kaitso Atokata crossed out and Ashley Courman written in the same neat handwriting. "Kai," she said quietly, suddenly feeling horrible for giving him the brush off just minutes before.

"Is that your paper?" Mr. Lancer asked.

For most students, it would have been very tempting to accept the exceptional paper for their own, and for AJ it was as well. The difference was that for AJ it lasted only as long as the thought crossed her mind. "No, it's Kai's paper," she confessed.

"And would this one be yours then?" Lancer asked as he pulled out a second paper.

AJ recognized the sloppy handwriting. "That would be mine," she said. "Where did you find it?"

"A student turned it in. Said he found it in between a few other papers he had in his possession," Lancer said.

"Did he have a name?" AJ asked waiting for Lancer to confirm her suspicion.

"Said his name was Simon," Lancer answered. "A friend of yours, I believe."

AJ was going to kill that vampire herself when she got a hold of him. She went through all of that paper in all those bins dragging Izzy, Xander and Kai into it and he had the assignment all along. She looked at the teacher. "Thanks Mr. Lancer," she said.

"Did you get your mess cleaned up?" he asked.

"Finishing it up," she said.

"Good," he said. "I'll be by to lock up soon." With that, he began going through the papers on his desk by pulling out a red pen.

AJ knew this was the signal that she was dismissed. She walked towards the door, stopped and turned around. The teacher looked up. "Thanks," she said. Then she was out the door.

Mr. Lancer broke into a grin.

* * *

"What are you two doing here?" Kai asked them as he walked into the storage room.

Izzy jumped at the voice. Sparks erupted from her fingers setting the papers in her hand on fire. She threw them down on the floor to avoid being burned as Xander threw a look at the wolfa before he stomped on them putting out the flames.

"Oi mutt, ready to set the buildin' on fire?" Xander questioned.

"Sorry," Kai said his normal sarcastic tone missing of which both the spellcaster and the girl took notice.

"We're helping AJ clean up," Izzy answered the earlier question.

Kai didn't say anything as he dropped his bag near the door. He walked over and silently began picking up papers and putting them into the bins. Izzy and Xander shared a look of confusion and concern.

"Something wrong Kai?" Izzy asked.

Kai didn't answer instead sliding paper down into a bin. Izzy was about to walk over until Xander's hand on her shoulder stopped her. She looked at him and with a nod of his head, he gestured to the door. She looked up and saw AJ. A quiet smile grew. Izzy grabbed her bag and walked over to the door.

"So, did you find what you were looking for?" Izzy asked the wolfa. AJ simply nodded.

"I'm goin'. Need to find meh locker," Xander said and began walking out of the room.

Izzy shook her head. _Not so much for tact was he?_ She gave AJ an encouraging smile and left the room.

AJ heard Izzy ask Xander if he already lost the map of the school that Hei drew him yesterday. His affirmative reply only made AJ break into a small smile. The smile died as she noticed that Kai wasn't even bothering to look her way. She had it coming, she supposed. She'd even say she deserved it to some degree, but still she was confused. "Kai?" she asked softly.

He didn't answer but continued to scoop up paper and place it in bins.

AJ sighed. "Kai?" she asked again a bit louder and with a bit more force.

She waited for a moment and still didn't get a response. "Kai…"

"What do you want?!" he snapped at her without bothering to look at her.

AJ stopped, momentarily stunned, before she snapped back, "You can damn well forget it now!"

That caught Kai's attention and he looked up. Great. She had her hands on her hips glaring. That was never a good thing for him. Time for a new approach. "What's the matter AJ?" he asked taking a calmer tone.

AJ shook her head as she scooped up some more papers and shoved them down hard into the bin. "Forget it," she answered sharply.

"Then why the hell bring it up?" Kai shot back forgetting his "new approach" theme.

"Let's see…I was going to have a conversation with you but apparently that's like talking to a brick wall."

"Then fucking ask the question instead of darting around it."

AJ's eyes took on an eerie look before the paper in her hand crunched together in a ball. She threw it at him. One after another, handfuls of the paper came flying at him. Most were wadded into paper balls that came in to hit him at inhuman speeds. He dodged from side to side to miss some of them but a majority were straight on target. "Knock it off AJ."

That only seemed to incite her. The paper started flying faster. "All I wanted was to ask you a question and instead I get either the silent treatment or snapped at!"

He reached into the nearest bin, grabbed a handful of paper, and threw it back at her in retaliation. "Then ask it all ready!" he shouted back at her.

"Why so you can throw it back into my face like you did earlier?!" she threw more paper.

_How is it that girls couldn't go from point A to point B without first hitting F, K and Y along the way?_ "I didn't mean it to sound like that," he said exasperated.

"You mean, like it was a total chore?" she answered sarcastically.

"It wasn't a chore. Well, yes, it was," he ducked as several more missiles came his way. "But I only did it because it was you who asked."

"Then why did you turn in your paper and tell Lancer it was mine?"

Several paper balls hit him as he froze. His eyes narrowed. He purposely began to stride towards her. AJ stopped throwing the paper as she saw his eyes and realized her mistake. He was directly in front of her with his cold hawk-like gaze fixed on her. "Who told you?" he asked dangerously quiet.

AJ knew that look and she really didn't want Kai to murder either their teacher or their friend. She put up her own glare and answered back, "A little birdie told me."

"Would that be the birdie that's going to end up frying herself one day or is it a birdie that likes to fly at night?" he asked taking a step closer.

"S..Simon?" she asked taking a step backward to the wall. "Why would Simon want to tell me something like that?"

"Then it was the other birdie," Kai said. "I'm going to kill her."

"No you're not," AJ said seriously. "All Izzy said was that Lancer had my paper. She didn't tell me anything more." _Hinted_, _perhaps_, now that she thought about it.

"Then, how?..."

"I do have a brain that works," AJ quipped. "I went to go see if he did have my paper. Why do you think I was there when you got out of class?"

_To see me?_ His mind hoped.

AJ continued unknowingly. "He showed me the paper and asked me if it was mine. I told him it wasn't."

"Why did you do that? If you said yes, you wouldn't fail the class," Kai asked.

"It wasn't my paper, first of all. Second, what would you've turned in?"

"I'm fine. I'm not the one who's just passing the class by the skin of my teeth."

"Not by the skin. I do have a good fang in there."

Kai rolled his eyes. "That wasn't the point and you know it."

"I know," AJ said and grinned. "But now you won't have to try and kill Izzy anymore."

Kai grinned back- barely. "I'm sure she'll give me another reason soon enough."

"She'll just fry you," AJ pointed out.

Kai shrugged knowing that he'd win that fight hands down. "Doesn't matter, nobody would miss me anyway."

"Sure we would," AJ said trying to make it sound as casual as possible.

"You'd all just miss me saving your butt."

"True enough," AJ answered smiling. She hesitated a breath's second before she risked adding, "But I'd still miss you."

Kai looked at her not quite trusting what he had heard. Unsure of how to answer, he chose his normal sarcastic tone, "Sure you would."

"Honestly," she said going into defense mode.

"Uh-huh. You've got Corpsey to keep you out of trouble."

"Maybe I don't want to stay out of trouble."  
It slipped out before she could catch it. _In for a penny, in for a pound_, she decided. _I might as well as screw this up._ She looked up to see him watching her through guarded eyes. "Kai?" she began quietly. "I was wondering about something…Uhm, last week, it was accidental, right? Well of course it was, it's not like it was planned," she began rambling. "But what I wanted to know was, d-did you mean it even if it was only accidental?"

Kai's eyes grew in surprise followed closely by panic. _This was a trick question. It had to be._ How was he supposed to answer this correctly so it didn't backfire on him?

AJ looked down at the ground. He had been quiet too long. "Never mind. Forget I said anything." She said trying to sound casual as she tried to move around him to finish cleaning.

"Yes," Kai answered barely audible.

AJ stopped unsure she had heard him right and the confusion showed on her face. "Huh?"

Damn it, he wasn't ever very good with words. It was hard enough to get that much out. _To hell with this_, he decided as he pulled her close to him. He smiled at her confused look. "Yes, " he answered. He reached out, hesitantly at first, before he brushed her long bangs tenderly from her face. The long rough scar shown in contrast to her pale skin that was soft to the touch. She looked down embarrassed by it.

"AJ…" he said quietly. With a finger under her chin, he tilted her face up. He leaned in brushing his lips across hers softly.

She inhaled sharply. He smiled against her soft lips as he held her close to him. "You know AJ, a kiss is meant to be shared," he teased lightly.

She shoved him playfully in the shoulder. "Smart ass," she replied in the same light teasing tone. He answered with a smile but AJ was determined to prove a point this time. She grabbed his jacket by the collar and twirled him until his back pressed against the wall.

Kai raised an eyebrow as he watched her curiously. She met his look with a quick flash of a smile before she crashed her lips onto his. A low and soft growl came from him as he crushed her body against his as their kiss deepened. Lips moved, warm breath mingled, tongues touched in one last kiss before they broke apart for air. She was still within his arms as he looked at her with an intensity that made her ache. AJ leaned in slowly.

There was a discreet cough from the doorway. Both turned in the direction and glared. Laughing dark green eyes and a small grin were on the boy leaning casually against the doorway with his arms crossed in front of him. "Lancer's looking for you Kai. Apparently you were supposed to meet him in his classroom about twenty minutes ago," Colin said brushing his red-brown bangs out of his eyes.

Kai's eyes went wide as realization hit him. Great, now he was going to end up in detention again tomorrow. "I gotta go," he said apologetically to AJ. He paused for a moment as he smiled at her. He leaned in close. "I'll see you later?" he asked nervousness in his voice.

AJ smiled. "Of course," she replied her cheeks breaking out into a full blush.

Kai's face lit up with his own grin as he scrambled to collect his bag. _Sometimes_, he mused as he walked by Colin towards Lancer's classroom, _life is better than perfect_.

Colin stood there grinning. "You know, pink is a good color for you," he teased. AJ answered with a ball of paper hitting him directly in the shoulder. "Okay, I probably deserved that."

"You did. Now you can help," she said grinning back.

Colin began rolling his eyes making a big show of it as he began talking, "I suppose…I could tell you that Lancer has a staff meeting that is supposed to start in five minutes so Kai will probably be told to go ahead and leave…"

AJ looked around the room she had helped to destroy all over again.

Colin shook his head. "Go. I'll clean it up. Just remind Kai of this the next time one of his crazy relatives tries to kill me again."

AJ smiled. "Thanks!" And just as quickly she was out the door.

Colin smiled. _It was about bloody time_.

* * *

"Cough it up," Izzy said to the other boys. "I believe that's twenty from each of you." Both Xander and Hei grumbled as they pulled out their money and handed it over to her. "Nice to do business with you boys."

"I still say it was nice work Lass," Simon said handing over his twenty. They watched Kai enter Lancer's room from the adjacent hallway. "How'd you know about the paper?"

Izzy smiled. "Trade secret," she answered. "So I'll meet up with you all in a bit?"

"Abandoning us all ready?" Hei asked from his wheelchair. "I thought the plan was for all of us to help clean the room."

Izzy smiled. "I'll be right back. Just got to take care of something first." None of them looked convinced. "Five minutes, I swear."

"Like I haven't heard that one before," Xander grumbled. "Them mutts use it all the time."

"Then save me part of the mess," Izzy said before she took off at a quick pace down the opposite hall from Lancer's room.

The three boys looked at each other. "She never did mention how much of a mess to leave her," Hei said.

Smiles grew.

* * *

Taped to the steering wheel of Kai's car was an envelope labeled with the words, "About Time" across it. Using a claw, he tore open the top of the envelope and read the short note. "I'm going to kill them…and I'm starting with her."

"What is it?" AJ asked as she settled into the passenger seat.

Kai didn't answer instead handed her the envelope. "I'd say there's about eighty dollars there. So what do you want to spend it on?"

AJ shrugged. "Suppose we could go see that new movie tonight."

Kai smiled. "That'll work," he said. "So what do you want to do until then?"

AJ's face lit up in a wicked grin as she looked at him. "Oh, I've got an idea or two."

Kai grinned back as he started the car.  
_Perfect_.

* * *


End file.
